The Hacker News | Expert Insights

It’s been reported that a new, generative AI worm dubbed “Morris II” has emerged. And for many, this new, generative AI worm is an understandable reason to panic.  Pushing back against hysteria, however, we discover that Morris II only targets AI apps and AI-enabled email assistants. No attack is a good one, but at least this one’s very specific. More importantly, the recognition that just as AI is helping to accelerate and automate attacks, it will also drastically improve security efficacy.  While AI threatens to overwhelm reactive security teams with the pace and sophistication of its onslaught, it can likewise enable proactive prevention through predictive processes and controls. This is critical to giving security teams the chance to withstand the barrage that awaits them. Scaling alongside AI-enabled attacks There are two proactive efforts that scale well when accelerated attacks become the norm. Neither of these efforts need to be AI-powered to be effective against...

Despite the widespread adoption of DDoS protection solutions, disruptive DDoS attacks continue to make headlines. Why? Even “basic” attacks are bypassing established defenses, as evidenced by the recent DDoS attack on X.  Our analysis, based on over 100,000 hours of annual attack simulations, reveals that all deployed DDoS protections are highly vulnerable — gaps that often go unnoticed until an attack successfully disrupts services. With no effective way to address these weaknesses preemptively, organizations remain exposed. This article examines why DDoS attacks persist and continue to inflict significant damage. How Even Simple Attacks Bring Down the Best DDoS Protections In 2024, Cloudflare reported more than 25 million DDoS attacks - representing a 53% YoY increase. This growing number of DDoS attacks and their escalating cost from damage begs the question: What are we missing? And how can the risk of these attacks (and the damage they cause) be reduced?  Unlike oth...

SaaS applications are the backbone of modern organizations, powering productivity and collaboration. However, they also introduce critical security risks—identity sprawl, misconfigurations, and an expanding attack surface. Identity providers have become a prime target for threat actors, prompting security teams to focus on protecting identities across multiple SaaS environments. To mitigate these risks, many organizations adopt SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) to harden configurations, enforce least-privilege access, and maintain visibility over human and non-human identities. SSPM is an essential preventive tool that improves cyber hygiene by reducing the attack surface. Yet prevention alone is not enough in today’s evolving threat landscape. Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) is crucial to bridge this gap and enable organizations to detect and respond fast to active threats targeting their identity infrastructure. The Growing Threat to SaaS Identities The rise i...

CTM360 has recently observed a sophisticated global scam campaign where victims are lured through fraudulent Google Play Store download pages. CTM360, a leading cybersecurity company for Digital Risk Protection, has identified over 6,000 instances of these fake pages, tricking users into downloading malicious apps. Once installed, the apps disguise themselves as legitimate software to deploy PlayPraetor (a malware named after the authoritative Roman praetor). It seizes control of infected devices to steal banking credentials, log keystrokes, and monitor clipboard activity. The operation’s global reach and complexity highlight a highly coordinated effort to compromise users' data for malicious purposes. How the Scam Works Threat actors behind PlayPraetor execute a well-crafted deception strategy: Fake Play Store Pages – Cybercriminals create highly realistic clones of Google Play Store and other trusted sources to distribute Trojanized APKs. Malicious APKs Disguised as L...

What is Threat-Led Vulnerability Management? Threat-Led Vulnerability Management (TLVM) is a security approach that focuses on prioritizing and managing vulnerabilities based on the current threat landscape and the specific risks posed to an organization. Rather than treating all vulnerabilities equally, TLVM emphasizes understanding which vulnerabilities are most likely to be exploited by malicious actors, correlated with the configuration state and security posture of the organization’s unique infrastructure and business processes. Why Now? The notion of adopting a Threat-Led Vulnerability Management (TLVM) approach has grown in popularity, particularly in the face of the escalating volume and sophistication of cyber threats, which are increasingly frequent and offer a lower cost attack alternative when supported by AI tools. The dynamic nature of the threat landscape requires organizations to stay agile in their vulnerability management processes, prioritizing efforts based on ...

For many organizations, managing IT assets is like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces. Despite massive investments in security tools and controls, many companies still have critical gaps in their ecosystems that leave them vulnerable to breaches. Often, these gaps stem not from a lack of tools—if such a thing exists in security—but from incomplete visibility and integration across those tools. By aggregating and analyzing data from multiple systems, security leaders can gain a more robust picture of their IT inventory and subsequently, their security posture. The challenge with disparate security tools It’s not unusual for enterprises to deploy a wide array of security tools. The average organization uses roughly 10 security tools, covering everything from endpoint management to identity and access control. These tools, however, often operate in silos, creating fragmented and occasionally contradictory reports. Let's look at a practical example. Conside...

Cybercriminals don’t just hack systems—they hack people. They’ve figured out that humans are wired to trust, empathize, and help, and they’re using that against us in ingenious ways. Take this jaw-dropper: In 2024, a company lost over $25 million because an employee fell for a deepfake during a video call. Yep, a fake video of "trusted colleagues" tricked someone into handing over the keys to the kingdom—all kicked off by a phishing email. Ouch. If we want to stay one step ahead, we need to understand the psychology behind these attacks. Let’s break it down—the human vulnerabilities, the identity and access management (IAM) fixes, and how to make tech work with (not against) our brains. Why Humans Are the Weakest Link Here’s the deal: Humans evolved to trust and empathize. It’s why we have friends, families, and functional societies. Mirror neurons in our brains make us feel what others feel, which is awesome for bonding… but terrible when a scammer shows up. Cybercrimi...

Shadow AI is presenting new challenges for security leaders. While AI tools have already revolutionized how we work, they've also created unprecedented security challenges that our traditional strategies or tools simply weren't designed to handle. I've spent the last decade working with organizations grappling with emerging tech risks, and I can tell you that this is different. In this post, we’ll talk about why, and more importantly, what you can do about it. The Hidden Risks of AI Adoption: Shadow AI The Wiz research team recently uncovered a publicly exposed DeepSeek production ClickHouse database , leaking chat history, API secrets, and other sensitive data—raising serious concerns for any organization using DeepSeek’s models. Truth is that many teams rushed to try out DeepSeek given the hype around its truly advanced technologies. While the DeepSeek situation has been surrounded by FUD, drama, and misinformation, it has also set important precedents for privacy ...

Hackers are constantly scanning your network, often spotting vulnerabilities before you do. They’re looking for misconfigurations, exposed assets, and weak points that could lead to a breach—are you seeing what they see? Every activity or interaction that your organization does online – website, social media accounts, cloud services, third-party integrations, and more – contributes to its digital footprint. This digital footprint is information attackers use to find your weaknesses and attempt to exploit them.  What if you could anticipate how hackers plan to exploit your vulnerabilities before they strike? Imagine identifying the weaknesses most enticing to an attacker—before they become exploited. Attack Surface Management (ASM) solutions help organizations continuously identify, monitor and manage aspects of public-facing IT assets, including those that may be forgotten. ASM is the tool in the battle of visibility – either you see your weaknesses first, or attackers will show ...

Across industries, businesses are focused on achieving key objectives such as: Driving sustainable revenue growth Reducing costs and improving efficiency Strengthening security and ensuring compliance Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) is central to these goals. A robust CIAM solution doesn’t just enable seamless user authentication and access—it unifies identity across an organization’s digital ecosystem. This ensures that customers can engage consistently across all channels while enabling sales, marketing, and support teams to leverage a single, authoritative view of each user. Moreover, outsourcing Customer Identity to an extensible CIAM platform enhances agility, freeing developers to focus on core applications. This results in faster development cycles, improved user experiences, and quicker time-to-market. From a security perspective, CIAM is critical for protecting user data, preventing identity-based threats, and meeting regulatory requirements. However, t...